Author: Will Riddle

One of the unique roles of a father in your life is to provide definition, and to guard you from the wolves that want to define you. When you separate from your father, or when he fails to perform this role, you become susceptible to false fathers. A false father is someone who gains power over you and takes advantage of you, and then, through this abuse defines who you are. False fathers can only operate when your real father is not there to guard and define you.
This danger is especially Read more [...]

God has recently been helping me to find the path to healthy relationships. I have discovered that I have a tendency to enter into codependent relationships as the helper. A codependent relationship is one where the love flow is when the bond is based on one person providing assistance and the other person receiving assistance. In the world, this term is often used to refer to a relationship that involves an addict or an abuser, but what I want to talk about here is the “benevolent” Read more [...]

Some people set a standard for prophetic people that they always be 100% accurate or they should be stoned. What is ironic about this is that the same people who suggest this standard often consider real prophecy and prophets to be people who interpret the Book of Revelation and those people are almost always wrong! Yet you don't hear them saying that these people should be put to death, or are not false prophets because of it. Last year, Godly people who I respect got all worked up about the Read more [...]

The instruments of the Academy have been designed to promote discovery of a factual and authoritative view of the world, and we should recognize that many of its members are working hard to do just that, recognizing the limitations of human knowledge.
Unfortunately the traditional ideas of academic discourse and freedom have come under some attack of late, while a growing minority who believe that their cause warrants them breaking the rules, will actually intentionally mislead you. Most are simply Read more [...]

One strategy of the enemy in academic argumentation is the false dichotomy: two choices exist, at either end of the spectrum, and you are forced to choose one. But what if neither one is right? Or what if both are right? Consider these examples:
1. Philosophy - empiricist or rationalist?
2. Economics - capitalist or socialist?
3. Psychology - nature or nurture?
"I'd like Both, Please."
Most academic disciplines have false dichotomies throughout the discipline. Certain topics have existed Read more [...]

The canon of Western Philosophy is interesting because it forms a pretty clear story. The early Western philosophers, the ancient Greeks, were rationalistic and deductive. The medieval/renaissance philosophers were basically Catholic theologians. The modern philosophers were empirical, skeptical, and secular. The late modern philosophers were atheist and starting to toy with relativism. The most recent philosophers are postmodern, which means they are hard to categorize but are generally relativist, Read more [...]

College students are often frustrated by professors and textbooks that seem to be speaking in a foreign language. This "foreign language" has both positive and negative aspects. First, it is important to recognize that it is necessary. Each academic discipline has its own vocabulary because it is trying to discuss a different part of the intellectual world. Terms are developed as ways of encapsulating ideas. In this way, such terms are useful because once understood, they simplify the debate because Read more [...]

In psychological circles, "humanism" refers to man's innate goodness. In contrast to Christian theology, which posits man as a naturally depraved, sinful creature, secular psychology prefers to assume that man is essentially good. Data interpretation, then, is carefully gerrymandered to protect this claim.
Why secular psychology has taken this route is interesting, since historically psychologists did not generally believe this way. From the foundation of Freud, psychologists believed man was inherently Read more [...]

Psychology, as a science, is built upon methodological naturalism. Challenge the naturalism, and you can't be a psychologist. At least, not in the Academy. Methodological naturalism means that only empirical data is admissible to support a scientific hypothesis, and that only naturalistic (sensory, visible, testable) conclusions are viable science. No supernatural allowed. And no untestable hypotheses, unfalsifiable ideas.
In practice, this sounds good. Nobody wants the study of human beings, individuals, Read more [...]

Cultural Anthropology is getting more popular these days, especially as globalism prompts the Western world to open up more to the Non-West. We are getting to be smarter world citizens, and seeing that very important histories parallel our own. And not only are there good stories, but there are tragic ones too… stories of people who have been exploited, enslaved, or just forgotten by the industrialized world. Cultural Anthropology aims to insert some justice into this situation, and bring world Read more [...]